From navigating your business through a testing economic landscape to dealing with talent shortages and increased pressures on teams, finance leaders have had plenty to contend with in recent times.

Effective leaders in finance are a hot commodity, and businesses are looking to theirs to guide them and take the right approaches to boosting profitability, retaining the best talent and building towards future success.

From speaking regularly to senior finance professionals across multiple industries, here are the top five things we see the most effective finance leaders do…

1. They communicate the strategy and vision clearly

Employees appreciate and value transparency and clarity around where the business is headed and the role they play in helping it get there and in driving future success.

Top finance leaders will be adept at guiding their employees, communicating with them regularly, discussing the challenges they need to overcome and keeping them focused on achieving their goals.

2. They create resilient and agile teams

Resilience, flexibility and agility amongst teams are recognised as some of the core skills for the future, and in a rapidly changing sector like finance, having teams that can respond to new regulations, economic challenges and other factors is essential.

We’re seeing great finance leaders achieving this by upskilling their existing teams with bespoke learning and development, hiring effectively through knitting diversity and inclusion into the fabric of their teams and working hard to create a great company culture.

3. They proactively identify and manage risk 

New risks continue to emerge, so having a clear understanding of current market conditions and what’s happening across the wider financial landscape is essential.

The most effective leaders will prioritise their business’ financial health by proactively identifying and mitigating financial risks and will then create the strategies needed to help lead their teams towards the right results.

4. They make important and strategic decisions

With an ever-growing wealth of information available to finance leaders, being able to use this data to their advantage and to influence strategic business decisions is key to their success.

Whether used to inform internal operations or provide insights into the wider market, top financial leaders are able to work across departments and with multiple stakeholders to identify trends, risks and future opportunities.

5. They show an openness to change and innovation

Digital transformation continues to gather pace and great financial leaders are adapting to change and adopting new technologies to ensure they remain competitive.

Those that are embracing innovation and demonstrating the value of new technologies and processes to their teams are the ones driving efficiencies and positive change across their businesses.